A 95-year-old nursing home resident suffering from dementia has been arrested in Brooklyn. She has been charged with murder after authorities say she fatally attacked another elderly woman at the same facility during a late-night altercation.
Police identified the accused as Galina Smirnova, who was taken into custody on Tuesday afternoon. Investigators allege she beat 89-year-old Holocaust survivor Nina Kravtsov with a piece of metal broken off from a wheelchair inside the Seagate Rehabilitation and Nursing Center on Coney Island. The attack reportedly unfolded around 10 p.m. Sunday after tensions escalated between the two residents.
Woman, 95, beats fellow nursing home resident to death with wheelchair part
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According to police, Kravtsov was found in her bed bleeding from a severe head wound. She was rushed to NYU Brooklyn Hospital. While initially she was listed in critical condition, eventually she passed away on Monday.
Police initially hesitated to disclose whether Smirnova would face charges, given her age and dementia diagnosis. Following the incident, she was transported to Coney Island Hospital to get her physical and psychiatric evaluations done.
However, officials confirmed Tuesday that she has now been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Authorities said Smirnova allegedly wielded a detached metal part from a wheelchair as a weapon during the attack, striking Kravtsov multiple times in the head.
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“I was devastated,” the victim’s daughter Lucy Flom told the New York Post. “My friends are saying they can’t believe it because it only happens in movies.”
Flom emotionally described her mother who had sacrificed a lot for her family. She had endured a lot in life but had not let it turn her into a bitter person. Kravtsov was originally from Ukraine and had gone through unimaginable hardship from a young age. “She was 5 years old when she was in the ghetto,” her daughter said. “She had a big family. She lost most of her family.”
Despite her tragic childhood, Kravtsov built a life that valued compassion. She trained and worked as a nurse in Ukraine, where, as Flom recalled, “everybody loved her.” She also became a teen mother. “She sacrificed a lot. She was a single mom. She had me when she was 18,” Flom said. “She came here to give me a good education,” Flom added.
The family eventually settled in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, where Kravtsov lived with her husband. Talking about her, Flom said, “She was a nice lady. She was like many moms – very loving, caring, devoted.”
Later in life, Kravtsov remarried and became part of a blended family, which led to Flom having a stepbrother and stepsister. “She was a mom to all of us,” Flom said. “We are just grieving.”
It now remains to be seen what kind of sentence is given to Smirnova, given her age and her dementia diagnosis. Nothing more is known about the case right now, and investigators are following routine procedures to have a better understanding of what happened and what should be done next.
